Pare-Pare can be explored through two questions: What role does the memory of BJ Habibie play, and should the focus be on water, nature or culture? The museum, activities at Pantai Lumpue and other places in the broader destination of Kota Pare-Pare offer different points of interest.
Museum and memories of BJ Habibie
The BJ Habibie Museum was established in 2020 in the Kota Parepare area. It is located in the municipality that includes Pare-Pare, in the house where Bacharuddin Jusuf (BJ) Habibie lived during his childhood in Kota Parepare, and is dedicated to his memory. The museum is also near Pelabuhan Nusantara Parepare. The exhibition was planned to showcase Habibie’s life story, his awards and his career as a technocrat. In this way, his childhood home and the planned focus on his public life are part of the same cultural context.
Nearby in Pare-Pare, the Monumen Habibie & Ainun, located in Parepare and also called Monumen Cinta Sejati, commemorates BJ Habibie and his wife, Hasri Ainun Besari. The museum and monument have different emphases: the museum is dedicated to BJ Habibie; the monument commemorates the couple. For travelers interested in his biography, they offer both a personal perspective and a shared perspective on the two names.
Water, boardwalk and landscape
Pantai Lumpue in Lumpue, Bacukiki Barat, Kota Parepare, is considered a place for swimming, playing in the water and snorkeling. Tonrangeng Riverside is nearby in Pare-Pare; its boardwalk stretches for several kilometers. There is also a waterfall in Tompangnge, where water flows over the roots of trees growing on a hill. This offers a choice of different nature and activity themes: water activities at the beach, the long boardwalk and the distinctive waterfall landscape.
Kota Pare-Pare as a broader travel setting
Within the broader destination of Kota Pare-Pare, Parepare is a port city on the southwest coast of Sulawesi. Kebun Raya Jompie is a natural attraction on Jl. Industri Kecil in Bukit Harapan, Soreang. Visitors can look out over the city of Parepare from the garden’s observation platform. Mount Nepo is the highest mountain in the Parepare area; Tompangnge Cave is known for its very large bat population. These destinations complement the beach and waterfall themes with viewpoints and distinctive landscapes.
Kota Parepare also offers further points of interest for activities: Ladoma is a tourist attraction there. The outdoor activities described include a flying fox and rafting; there is also a lake where visitors can catch and grill fish. Check whether these activities are currently available before traveling. Another highlight is the sunset over Parepare Bay at Pantai Bibir, also known as Pantai Matirotasi.
In the broader destination of Kota Pare-Pare, cultural interests connect with tradition, markets and the events calendar. Mappadendang is a performance expressing gratitude for the harvest and usually takes place during the main harvest. The Salo Karajae Festival is held annually on September 27. Pasar Senggol is a night market in Kota Parepare where visitors can buy used clothing. These aspects offer different reasons to plan a trip around a particular time or theme.
When choosing a hotel in Pare-Pare, it helps to first decide on your focus: the museum offers a cultural highlight, Pantai Lumpue a water-based one, and destinations in Kota Pare-Pare broaden the options to include nature, viewpoints and markets.
Discover more destinations: Tetebatu, Pangkajene, Tanete Riattang, Muara Enim, Palopo, Tempe, Duampanua, Baruppu.
Back to the broader travel overview: South Sulawesi.
